The field of the present invention relates to an improved nail polish bottle holder that can hold nail polish bottles of various sizes and shapes at any dispensing angle desired and does not obscure the view of the bottles contents. It is useful for dispensing nail polish in the nail polishing process.
Nail polish is a fast drying lacquer that is ordinarily applied to the nails from a small bottle using a brush applicator affixed to the closure cap of the bottle. Because of the fast drying nature the user is often in a hurry. Further, the user is confronted with the problem of drawing a small quantity of the lacquer repeatedly. The bottle size is an annoying factor further complicated by the users need to secure bottle with one hand, as the applicator is dipped to draw the desired fill of polish. The bottle is then set aside as the applicator applies its fill of polish to a fingernail. These steps are repeated until all the nails are polished.
It is obvious that this process is tedious, awkward, and frustrating, frequently resulting in unsatisfactory results from spills of the nail polish and smudges in the newly painted nail that occur as a result of the constant manipulation of the nail polish bottle. Applying the nail polish without having to hold the bottle is therefore desirable.
It is a well-known phenomenon that when a brush is placed in a bottle of nail polish when the bottle is upright it is very difficult to extract the necessary amount of liquid from the bottle if the bottle is less then half full. However, if the bottle is tipped, it is much easier to extract the liquid. As the contents of the bottle reduce, the bottle must be tipped at slightly greater angles. A nail polish bottle holder that could hold the nail polish bottle at varying angles is therefore necessary.
Apparatus for holding the bottle at a desired angle allows the user more mobility to apply the polish resulting in a much better result. Since it is necessary to judge the depth of the inserted applicator in the nail polish bottle to avoid making a mess and drawing the required fill, it is desirable for the user to be able to see the contents of the bottle. Nail polish comes in bottles of various size and shape and therefore it is desirable to have a holder that can hold nail polish bottles of various size and shape.
These problems have drawn interest and patents have been granted on several inventions that address some of the problems of holding the bottle in a tipped position. However these inventions need further improvement. They tend to be limited to bottles of certain sizes or shapes or only allow the bottle to be tipped at certain angles. They may also call for the bottle to be held in an opaque frame that obscures sight of the liquid in the bottle, which makes it difficult to use an applicator properly. For example, LaBelle et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,709 teach the use of a frame that keeps a bottle at generally 45xc2x0 from an upright position. DeBlasi et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,188 teaches us the need to selectively tip the container of nail polish, however the invention is limited because the receptacle is lined with plastic foam and this will obscure the user""s view of the bottle interfering with the user""s ability to draw the desired amount of polish with the applicator. The device also is dependent on the use of detents to tip the bottle requiring more force that could result in smudges to the users newly painted nail. De Blasi also limits the size and shape of bottles that can be held, as does Siteman in U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,117, which is dependent on a sand bag of sufficient mass to restrain the bottle. Also, improper touch will upset the bottles tilt causing unsatisfactory results. The bottle support taught by Fleit, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 2,748,952 also limits the size of bottles. The present invention addresses the need for a nail polish bottle holder that does not obscure the view of the bottles contents and does away with the inability of prior art to hold nail polish bottles of varying size and shape at the desired angle.
The principal object of the present invention is to improve upon the prior art by providing a nail polish bottle holder that does not obscure the view of the bottles contents while holding bottles of various sizes and shapes at the angles desired to easily draw the nail polish from the bottle regardless of the amount of liquid remaining in the bottle. It is also the principal object of the present invention to eliminate difficulties in retrieving the nail polish from the bottle by eliminating the users need to hold the bottle while drawing the contents.
The present invention has four essential elements: a base, a fixed post; a pivoting post; and a clip. The fixed post has a bottom that is integrally attached to the base and has a top that forms a socket for a ball and socket joint. The clip is spring-loaded such that pressure must be applied to lever portions to open the arms of the clip, which have the shape of an arcuate hollow ellipse. If pressure is applied to the lever portions to open the arms, a nail polish bottle placed interior to the open arms, and then the pressure on the lever portions is released, the arcuate arms will press against the bottle and hold it securely. As the center of each arm is hollow the user can observe whether the brush applicator is extracting enough polish from the bottle, and therefore how much the bottle should be tilted. The pivoting post has a bottom section that is spherical in shape and that can be snapped into the socket in the fixed post to form a ball and socket joint. The rest of the pivoting post is generally cylindrical in shape with a lower section and an upper section. The upper section has a cross section that is smaller than the lower section except for lips at the top of the pivoting post. Also, there is a slit in the upper section. The clip is attached to the pivoting post by pushing the pivoting post up through the center of the clip""s flange and spring. The slit in the upper section is compressed to allow the top of the pivoting post to pass through the interior of the spring and the clip""s flange. After the slit has passed through the clip""s flange and spring, the clip is held securely on the pivoting post between the lips and the lower section. This operation and snapping the ball of the pivoting post into the socket of the fixed post, essentially assemble the bottle holder. A bottle held securely in the clip is tilted by tilting the pivoting post.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device, which is of simple and inexpensive construction that can be easily assembled. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a nail polish bottle holder that allows easy insertion of nail polish bottles of various shapes and sizes. It is another object of the present invention is to provide a device that will eliminate unsatisfactory results. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that allows the bottle to rotate on 360 degree around a center post and to tip 90 degrees from its vertical position. It is another object of the present invention to provide a device that is not archaic in appearance.